E36 (1991 - 1999) The E36 chassis 3-Series BMW was a huge hit among driving enthusiasts from the first moment the car hit the pavement. The E36 won numerous awards over the years it was produced and is still a favorite of many BMW enthusiasts to this day! -- View the E36 Wiki

I would do a twin screw super charger. Not at first, but eventually. There are a couple of good kits out there that would be pretty much hassle free for you, but you're doing it right. Get all of the necessities and track it. If you later feel it could use more go juice, boost time!

Are you talking about the little electric fan between the AC condenser and the bumper?

Right, it's a two-speed auxiliary/condenser fan. Low speed kicks on either when you turn on the A/C or after the coolant reaches a certain temp. High speed kicks on if it reaches a higher temp. After you do the FDM it's all fun and games until the aux fan craps out on you. I had some problems with mine over the weekend (even though I replaced the fan not long ago) and I had to drop out of an auto-x event because the fan wouldn't kick on and it was getting way too hot between runs. Turns out the relays for the high speed and low speed modes were both stuck. But like you said, if it's going to be a dedicated track car you could easily get by without any kind of fan as long as you're not idling for long periods.

Right, it's a two-speed auxiliary/condenser fan. Low speed kicks on either when you turn on the A/C or after the coolant reaches a certain temp. High speed kicks on if it reaches a higher temp. After you do the FDM it's all fun and games until the aux fan craps out on you. I had some problems with mine over the weekend (even though I replaced the fan not long ago) and I had to drop out of an auto-x event because the fan wouldn't kick on and it was getting way too hot between runs. Turns out the relays for the high speed and low speed modes were both stuck. But like you said, if it's going to be a dedicated track car you could easily get by without any kind of fan as long as you're not idling for long periods.

I think for autocross it's more difficult because you constantly have to move the car up in line at most venues. For track days, you usually sit in the pits with the motor off until it's time to actually get on track. Hope no damage was done to yours and you get the problem sorted out.

Got the rear rotors off after a bit of a struggle (read my desperate plea for help here).

I'm still wondering what's going to happen with having pads with no sensors. Is a light going to come on or something?

I have my new pads, lines and fluid. I'm picking up rotors in the morning. I also dropped off the rear tires for mounting.

I'm debating installing the lines myself because I really want to get the calipers off so I can clean them up and check the piston boots more carefully. The risk is that if something screws up, I may not have time to get it fixed by Friday (track day). I'll decide in the morning.

nothing will happen to the brakes. the sensor is only there to alert the driver that the pads are getting low.

the light will be on when the circuit is broken, so if you wish to keep it off, simply cut the wires of the lead (if the sensor is worn down and is illuminating the light) and splice them together, tape and secure out of the way with a zip tie.

if they are *not* worn, then simply (and gently) remove them from the brake pad and secure out of the way. or reuse them.

the light will be on when the circuit is broken, so if you wish to keep it off, simply cut the wires of the lead (if the sensor is worn down and is illuminating the light) and splice them together, tape and secure out of the way with a zip tie.
df

Thanks. I'm thinking I might just cut and splice them a couple inches from the connector and tuck the end into the box.

So, here's how I deleted the brake sensor. It turns out I didn't really need to do this as my race pads have the slot for the sensor but, meh. I really don't need a sensor to tell me my pads are wearing thin.

I cut the wires a couple of inches from the connector, one a little shorter than the other. This is so that I could make a loop, connect the two wires and keep the connection straight. It also keeps the covered part of the wire at the end of the loop instead of the joint. I then covered the wire with heat shrink tubing. With the piece connected back to the harness, the wire sticks out of the box an inch or so.

In case you've not seen the brake sensor wire before...

This is how I cut the wires. I didn't have any strippers small enough for this wire so I just used a pocket knife to cut the circumference of the insulation. Just cut in until you feel the knife drag against the wire then move around the wire. Then pinch with your fingernails where you cut the insulation and pull it off.

This is how I joined the wires and soldered them together.

Add some heat shrink (hopefully you'll have smaller tubing than I did).

There's more than one way to skin a cat. This is how I held the front rotor still while I removed the rotor retainer screw. I did it a little different on the passenger side by using only one bolt and having the breaker bar under the bolt and on top of the hub flange with the handle propped against the rear of the wheel well. Could have done the same here but with the handle of the breaker (or even a long screwdriver) propped in the brake vent hole.

I finished installing the front brake pads. The rear pads are on the old rotors because the new ones won't be here until Tuesday. I don't have a mic to measure the rotors but I may just leave them on there, run my track day on Friday and replace them next weekend.

My front rotors were nearly brand new so I left them on as well. Just replaced the pads and cleaned everything up.

I thought the previous owner said that ALL the struts and shocks were replaced but the rears look pretty old. I haven't had enough time driving to be sure but I think they're shot.

Nearly all my ball joint boots are torn and leaking. Do I understand correctly that, if the inner ball joints boots are torn, the control arm has to be replaced or is there a replacement for the inner ball joints I'm not seeing somewhere?

I'm probably going to have to replace the front bumper and all its innards including the undertray. I'm going to see if I can find another E36 at the track day that I can look at because I'm not really sure what's missing.

I knew this thing was going to nickle and dime me to death but I didn't think it would be this bad.

cool picture show!! i dig for sure. little things like the loop @ the end instead of the splice, as well as solder/shrink tubing are the best!! thanks for sharing.

as for the inner ball joints, yeah, they're not serviceable. the control arm needs to be replaced. this will also require new lower control arm bushings (lcabs). not too difficult to do, but if you're allowed, i would suggest an upgraded bushing. i am running meyle solid units with the hd lower control arms. no issues with them, but i do not track the car.

the rear shock mounts are the weak point, so i would definately suggest an upgrade. i went with the turner units, but kinda wish i had gone with the rogue engineering ones instead. still, they've not been a disappointment, just kinda like the ability to r&r the shocks from outside the trunk is all....but either way, reinforcements are almost mandatory.

as for the underpinning, the stock pieces *always* fall out. i think it was joey (slimklim) that made one out of aluminum (??). regardless, though, one of the regulars did a solid pan and mounted it. seems to be doing well so far, and i belive this is someting that i will be looking to do for the ti when the time comes. might just use a sheet of poly, though. not sure.

cool picture show!! i dig for sure. little things like the loop @ the end instead of the splice, as well as solder/shrink tubing are the best!! thanks for sharing.

as for the inner ball joints, yeah, they're not serviceable. the control arm needs to be replaced. this will also require new lower control arm bushings (lcabs). not too difficult to do, but if you're allowed, i would suggest an upgraded bushing. i am running meyle solid units with the hd lower control arms. no issues with them, but i do not track the car.

the rear shock mounts are the weak point, so i would definately suggest an upgrade. i went with the turner units, but kinda wish i had gone with the rogue engineering ones instead. still, they've not been a disappointment, just kinda like the ability to r&r the shocks from outside the trunk is all....but either way, reinforcements are almost mandatory.

as for the underpinning, the stock pieces *always* fall out. i think it was joey (slimklim) that made one out of aluminum (??). regardless, though, one of the regulars did a solid pan and mounted it. seems to be doing well so far, and i belive this is someting that i will be looking to do for the ti when the time comes. might just use a sheet of poly, though. not sure.
df

I have to keep telling my self that this is still cheaper than my last mid life crisis where I bought a used Factory Five Challenge Series Roadster, a trailer and spent thousands chasing an overheating problem. Then had to sell it to get out of debt!

After I finished installing the brake pads, I went for a drive to bed them in. I used Hawk Blue 9012 pads. The bedding procedure went great. I'm lucky that I live in a rural area with miles of backroads and nearly no traffic; especially on a Sunday morning. I never had to come to a complete stop.

So far, I'm really impressed with these pads. This is the first time I've tried them. After bedding them in I let them cool down while I did the grocery shopping. On the way home, the pads had sufficient bite to be streetable in warm weather. The first stop on cold brakes felt like there might have been a little ramp up until the pad reached sufficient temp but it was quick; fine for a normal stop. I'd be leery of driving with these pads on the freeway in cold weather.

We'll see how they do at the track. I'm running with fully treaded tires so I don't anticipate I'll be able to generate enough torque to max them out.

Yes, I wussed out on getting the tires shaved. The only shop I've been able to find is a long ways from work and 3 times as far from home. And I would have needed to make two trips. Just wasn't enough time.

After all that was done, I moved on to attempting the shifter bushing DIY. Damn that bitch-clip. I'll try again this evening. I'm going to grind a chisel point on a screwdriver and see if I can pry up the side of the clip. Then I'm going to have to find a way to put some primer on all the places were I gouged the paint under there trying to use a utility knife to cut out the insulation. I hate hacking things up like that but I was getting desperate.

While I was under there, I looked at the Guibo. It's brand spanking new. Oh, well. Now I have a stand-by.

I also got a good look at the control arms. All of them need to be replaced. They'll certainly survive this track day. But all of the boots are torn and leaking.

The trick with the clip is to push out, not up. I believe the direction is towards the passenger's side. Get a tiny flathead and get it under there, then rotate it using the top most part of the clip as the fulcrum. You can push the side part of the clip that sticks to the transmission off its clip point, then lift the flat head end up as you slowly remove the screwdriver, and the clip pops up. Then you can rotate it and remove it.

The trick with the clip is to push out, not up. I believe the direction is towards the passenger's side. Get a tiny flathead and get it under there, then rotate it using the top most part of the clip as the fulcrum. You can push the side part of the clip that sticks to the transmission off its clip point, then lift the flat head end up as you slowly remove the screwdriver, and the clip pops up. Then you can rotate it and remove it.

That's kind of what I finally did.

Quote:

Originally Posted by petriej

And it's Giubo.

That's what I said. Guido...Gumbo...Gouda...Flex disc.

And, no, it's Guibo. At least according to nearly the entire internet.

Well, Tiffany survived the track day and I got signed off to drive solo (for the third time in my driving career). I tried to take video but the camera angle made it worthless. I might get some pictures later this week from the photographer that was there.

The car performed as well as can be expected from a stock 323is with 185k miles on the clock. I and a couple of Miatas were the slowest cars out there. During the driver's meeting the instructor asked for a show of hands for people with cars having over 300 hp. Easily 75% of the room raised their hands.

I spent a lot of time with my arm out the window. I like group 2 at FATT because you can pass anywhere with a point-by. People were generally courteous. I even passed a couple of cars.

I found the car to be surprisingly forgiving, much like the '02 WRX I drove for a while. I spent the first session getting used to the car, which I had not had a chance to drive in anger until today. Halfway through the session, the shifter knob came off in my hand. I was able to put it back without missing a beat, but it came off again a couple laps later. At that point I handed it to the instructor and asked that he just hold onto it. Shifting with just the stalk caused me to miss a couple of shifts (skipping from 2nd to 5th coming out of T2). That's when the Miatas got to pass me.

During the break, I remove the leather boot and duct taped the knob onto the stalk. Problem solved.

With that worry out of the way I was able to concentrate better for the second session and got on with the job of pushing the car harder. I got into a good groove. The instructor adjusted my line through 6 and into 7 which helped immensely. I was able to shift into 3rd between 7 and 8 right before hitting the limiter and that had me at full throttle through 9. I used 3rd all the way through 10, though I had to ease off a little early to keep from redlining.

The Hankook Ventus V4s were also surprisingly good. They were very predictable the entire time.

I checked my temp gauge periodically and never saw the needle move off center. I checked all the fluids between sessions and everything looked great. I retorqued the wheels also and they did need a little teaking every time.

The first instructor signed me off in the second session. Then a lead instructor signed me off after the third (FATT requires sign off by two instructors to be solo qualified). By the third session, I was completely comfortable with the car. I could pretty much put it where I wanted it. I only had a couple of yips where the ASC kicked in and tightend my line in the midst of a perfect 4 wheel drift. The first time cause me to punt an apex cone at T8.

For my last session, which I got to drive solo, I turned the bloody ASC off. MUCH BETTER! Not to toot my own horn, but I don't think this car could have been driven much faster. I think the only thing that would have improved my own driving would have been a race seat and 5 point restraints. My left elbow bruised from bracing against the door. I couldn't heal and toe effectively because my butt kept sliding around.

I certainly see why people enjoy these cars so much and I am starting to see the potential with this car. Race seats and a roll cage are up next but I'm going to have to wait until I can afford it.

Since I didn't get any interesting video or pics of my car, I offer this beauty.